OCLRE-nominated Gahanna teacher to accept National Teacher of the Year honors

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The American
Lawyers Alliance (ALA) will present its 2014 National Middle School
Law-Related Teacher of the Year Award to Gahanna Middle School South teacher Mike Browning at its annual meeting on Aug. 8 in Boston, Mass.

Browning has taught social
studies for more than 25 years at both the middle and high school
levels, and currently teaches eighth grade American History. Browning
has earned distinction in the past, including being named a “master
teacher” in 2006 and 2008 by the History in the Heartland Program at The Ohio State University.

Since 2008, Browning has implemented the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution curriculum in his classroom. We the People, administered in Ohio by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE), focuses on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The culminating activity for We the People
is a series of simulated congressional hearings. Students showcase
their knowledge and understanding of constitutional principles and
evaluate, present and defend positions on relevant historical and
contemporary issues. Browning’s students have regularly participated in
the Ohio Middle School We the People State Showcase, and in the spring of 2014 traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National We the People Invitational.

“Mike is an example of what
a teacher should be. He engages his students in rigorous, academic
activities that teach the content in an enjoyable fashion,” says
nominator Lisa Eschleman, executive director of OCLRE.

The ALA is active in its
support of public education, citizenship awareness and various service
programs. The ALA sponsors its annual National Teacher of the Year
Award, which recognizes teachers who have made outstanding contributions
to law-related education. Founded in 1958, the ALA is a charitable and
educational non-profit organization whose mission is to promote
understanding of the American legal system through its national network
of lawyers’ spouses.

OCLRE is a non-profit,
nonpartisan organization whose goal is to improve society by developing
citizens empowered with an understanding of our democratic system. OCLRE
is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General’s
Office, Ohio State Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties
Union of Ohio Foundation. In Ohio, We the People is funded in part by a grant from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. For more information on OCLRE, please visit www.oclre.org.